Surgical fasteners are used to eliminate the need for suturing, which is often time consuming and inconvenient. Surgical fasteners accomplish in seconds what would have taken many minutes to accomplish by suturing, thus reducing operating time and trauma to the patient. In hernia repair procedures, for example, the weakened area of the abdominal wall may be reinforced with a synthetic mesh or by suturing the abdominal tissue. In such an instance, a surgical fastener in the form of an absorbable screw fastener may be used, in lieu of, or in addition to, a surgical suture to fix the position of the mesh.
In view of the widespread use of surgical fasteners, a continuing need exists for improved surgical fasteners, surgical fastener appliers, and methods of applying the surgical fasteners.